FRESNO — The team element of cross-country is often overlooked, yet its value cannot be underestimated.
The Chico High boys and girls teams certainly feel that way after both squads took first at the Northern Section Finals two weeks ago at West Valley High in Cottonwood, earning them an invitation to the CIF State Championships on Saturday at Fresno’s Woodward Park. The Chico girls, ranked No. 8 in the state by MileSplit CA, will compete in the girls Division III race at 9 a.m. The ninth-ranked Chico boys will follow with the D-III race at 10 a.m.
All seven varsity runners from each Chico team will toe the starting line of the 5,000-meter race together. They will have familiar faces in an elite race while many spectators watch them. And, they should have an extra bit of motivation to push each other.
“I feel like all being together, we can be nervous together, we can be excited together,” said Chico sophomore Sophie Sims. “We’ve gone through the whole season and worked so hard together, so it’s going to be good to get rewarded for everything as a team.”
Last season, the Panthers girls were denied the opportunity to send their whole team to state after Foothill won the section finals over Chico by just one point. Instead, Sims, Britta Bundy and Liberty Bronson competed for the Panthers by earning individual berths. Sims, the lone state returner from last year’s trio, will now be joined by six of her teammates.
“This is true of the boys as well, but the girls really benefit from having a group because they know that their teammates are relying on them,” Chico head coach Kevin Girt said. “And they really buy into that team concept. When you have a full team, that adds a whole (other) level of motivation, which you definitely need at the state level.”
After pacing the Panthers to a third-place finish at the section finals, senior Nahkia Clements will also bookend her career with a second appearance at state. She qualified as a freshman during the 2016 season, and wound up placing 60th in the D-III race with a time of 19 minutes, 11 seconds, which still stands as her personal record for 5,000 meters.
Sims (4th) and Una Griffith (7th) also placed in the top 10 at sections. Amanda Harris (15th), Iresh Molina (19th), Grace Becker (21st) and Della Molina (23rd) rounded out the Panthers team that scored 47 points, ahead of Foothill’s 49.
In just her second race at the varsity level, Becker, a sophomore, finished the 3-mile course with a time of 21:41.5. She was called up from JV to varsity before Eastern Athletic-Sac. River League Championships, replacing a couple of varsity runners who elected not to finish the season.
She had to adjust to a longer distance, which led to her getting out a little too fast in the second mile of the West Valley course, she said. And while happy for the opportunity to race on the Panthers’ varsity team for sections and now, state, she had to adjust to the idea of not finishing the season with her JV teammates.
“I was really excited because it was a big honor to be able to move up like that,” Becker said. “But it was a little bit hard leaving some of the JV runners behind because I’d been with them pretty much all season and I was leaving them last minute. They did just fine on their own — it’s not like they needed me — but it was still hard to leave them behind.”
Experience is also a factor at state, which showed last season when the Chico boys team, led by six seniors and junior Alan Nava, took seventh as a team to clinch the best finish in program history.
After those six graduated, Nava became the eldest member of the team going into the 2019 season.
“This year, we had a whole new squad — a bunch of different girls and a bunch of different guys,” Nava said. “At the beginning, I was kind of worried because I thought we (weren’t) going to have the same team chemistry as last year, but it turned out we did. I’m really thankful for that because the whole team has really bonded together over the season. Now that we’re heading into state, I see great things ahead of us … We’re really a family now.”
At the section finals, all seven Panthers finished in the top 20 and a split of 1:13 between runners 1-7. Mario Giannini and Hunter Dougherty finished first and second, respectively; Nava took 10th, while Andre Mota (16th), Liam Sehorn (18th), Benjamin Wun (19th) and Jack Hervey (20th) finished within six seconds of each other.
“All the boys — and the girls — have shown up and done us proud,” Nava said.
On Saturday, the Panthers will find out how their team chemistry will translate in the biggest race of the season.
“Cross-country is truly a team sport,” Girt said. “To be able to take a team on both the boys and girls and together, you see the camaraderie of them as they hang out together. They’re all friends, they all respect each other because they know what it takes to be good and be competitive in this sport. It’s really a proud and exciting moment for us coaches to hopefully go down and have them earn what they deserve.”
Paradise’s Roehling, Durham’s Murasko get another shot at state
A host of individuals from area teams also qualified for the state championships — some of whom have prior experience at the event, and others making their state debut.
Paradise senior Patrick Roehling, who placed 11th overall at the section finals, will compete in his fourth straight state event Saturday in boys D-IV. His fastest time on the course came at last year’s state championships when he clocked a time of 17:17.7 to place 109th. Roehling was also part of the Bobcats’ 1,600-meter relay team last spring that broke a section record (3:19.86) and advanced to state.
Durham sophomore Mikaela Murasko, the Mid-Valley League champion, returns to the D-V girls race after she and her entire Trojans team advanced to state in 2018. In that race, Murasko ran the quickest time among Durham’s seven runners, clocking a 22:10.6.
Highlighting a group of first-year state competitors, Pleasant Valley senior David Smith enters the D-III boys race after placing 12th overall at the section finals and setting a new PR (17:08.5) for a 3-mile distance. His 5,000-meter career best was set earlier this season at the Oct. 18 Chico Autumn Invitational, with a time of 17:20.7.
In D-IV, Orland’s Anjaneesa Ward earned her first trip to the state venue after placing 12th overall at the section finals. She set a PR earlier this season at the Chico Autumn Invitational with a time of 20:16.7.
Also in the D-IV girls ranks, Paradise senior Alandra Swangler, also the Westside League champion, qualified for her first state race, following a 22nd-place overall finish at the section finals. Swangler set a new PR at the Chico Autumn Invitational of 21:22.7.
A full schedule of Saturday’s races can be found online at www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/157735/info.
